“Occupy” and the Need for Leadership

The Occupy movements have been out on the streets for a several months now yet their goals remain largely unknown to most of us. The reason for this is because they really don’t have any goals beyond generating awareness, and have eschewed leaders and leadership. This is a good lesson for us in the value of leadership.

Leadership provides the most value, and in fact some say is only needed, in times of crises or turmoil. An effective leader will work to create a compelling vision with powerful goals that will attract and align people toward those goals. The messages communicated by a vigorous leader will be crisp and compelling.

While I sympathize with the protesters and agree that we must focus on maintaining a strong middle class, I am saddened that their energy is not as channeled and productive as it could be. If the occupy protesters were to channel their energy into crisply crafted goals such as generating awareness on a widening wealth and income gap, calling voters to action to communicate with their legislators, and providing lucid messages for them to communicate they could become a powerful force.

Without this, they stand to appear as an unorganized, drifting tribe of mavericks, garnering a fraction of the publicity and effectiveness they could, and truly should obtain.

Concepts:
• Leadership provides most value in times of crises or turmoil
• A leader motivates and aligns individuals toward common goals, enhancing group productivity